Get closer to the edge.

I can't believe I'm sharing this story, but here it goes.

When my son was just about 1 year old, We did a family trip to the Grand Canyon. Like all of the other crazies there, I felt the odd desire to get close to the edge and get a picture.

My wife at the time had her nice expensive camera and was ready to shoot. So I pick up and hold my son Lucas in my arms, walk to the edge, and turn around to get the picture.

At that moment.... I actually slipped and fell. I nearly dropped my one year old off the edge of the grand canyon.

With extreme luck and gratitude, nobody was hurt physically... although I certainly received some verbal lashing from everyone... and I mean EVERYONE... that saw it.

This is an absolutely true story.

So what's the lesson here? How does this relate to growth, learning, and Professional Development in the workplace?

I believe all of us have a secretly have this desire to get close to the edge... get out of our comfort zone... build new skill sets... try new things... but somewhere along the line, there may have been some trauma. Maybe we failed. Maybe we didn't get the instant results.

So what do we do? We don't grow. We stay doing our same job, our same role, and stay stuck.

Am I suggesting to immediately go to grand canyon and stand on the edge with your infant? Absolutely not. Lets get to today's lesson.

Find the teetering edge in your career.

I remember giving my first powerpoint presentation in front of a group. I was absolutely awful. I had my back to the audience the entire time and read the slides verbatium. But the important thing was that I broke through my fears and showed up to do it.

Now I can speak in front of groups easy peasy. Same with Podcasts. Same with Writing. Same with Selling. Every time I push to the edge of my current skill set, it helps me grow professionally.

That teetering edge is where all the growth happens.

You've probably heard the quote by Elanor Roosevelt. "Do something every day that scares you."

I truly believe if we feel stuck in our career/Professional Life... its time to find the cliffs edge. Find a skillset that actually scares you a little bit. For many professionals, public speaking tops the list. Find what gets your emotions heightened a bit and lean into it. Then build an action plan to become great at that skill. Not only will it help you get "unstuck" in your career.... it will help you grow your self-confidence and self worth. THAT is the real ROI of training. - Dan Clapper

ACTION TIME:

1. What skillset are you secretly scared of? Decide today to just go for it. Build a Growth Action Plan around it.
2. If you are in a leadership role... think about ways that you can stretch your employees outside of their comfort zone. Don't just send them out there to get traumatized though.... Arm them with the resources and support needed for successful growth.

As always, I'm happy that you took a few moments to read to the end. I promise I will continue to provide fresh actionable content, week after week, to inspire growth and learning in the workplace. Feel free to add your thoughts on the topic below, and i truly appreciate you subscribing!!

Your Friend,

Dan